Gordon Brown today insisted that he did not "hold grudges" and described Tony Blair as a "great guy".

The news will come as a surprise to those who view the chancellor as having had "the longest sulk in history" over Mr Blair's refusal so far to hand him the keys to No 10.

But in an attempt to show a softer side, Mr Brown today described himself as "a family man who has two young children", who had changed as a result of his experiences in recent years.

Pressed repeatedly on BBC Radio 4's Today programme on whether he was liked by the public, Mr Brown said he hoped that he was but it was a matter for others to judge.

In a remark targeted partly at the Tory leader, David Cameron, the chancellor said that he thought that the era of "personality politics" was over and that people did not just want leaders who told them what they wanted to hear.

Asked about what his style of government would be if he became prime minister, Mr Brown said: "When you are making decisions as chancellor, you've just got to say 'no', but I think when you are talking about these other great issues of the time, the one thing that I've realised... is that you cannot solve these problems without engaging and involving and eventually having on your side the people of the country."

He added that he was a man who had his own views, but stressed that he also listened to others.

"You want to use all the talents of the country," the chancellor said. "That's why you've got to be inclusive and you've got to be collegiate and you've got to bring people in."

Mr Brown accepted that a prime minister was expected to be liked as well as respected.

"I try to do the best I can as a chancellor," he said. "Obviously, if one's in a different job both the expectations and the demands of that are different, and I'm ready to rise to any challenge, because I think that what I would like to do is to serve the country in the best way that I can."

Asked about the claims by Lord Turnbull, his former permanent secretary, that he had a "Stalinist ruthlessness", Mr Brown said: "It's not something you want to hear, but equally at the same time you accept that these are the things that happen... You've just got to get on with it."

Asked about other personal insults he had faced during his 10 years as chancellor, he said: "I don't hold grudges against people at all."

He described Mr Blair as "a great guy... I've got an enormous amount of respect for him."

Some commentators have described yesterday's budget as an exercise in cementing Mr Brown's transition to No 10, and the chancellor was certainly happy to be interviewed this morning.

However, Mr Brown rejected Tory claims that his tax changes in yesterday's budget were a "con trick".

He stressed that the surprise moves - including cutting the basic rate of income tax by 2p to 20p - would not hurt low-income families, because the system of tax credits made them better off.

The Tory leader, David Cameron, continued his assault on the chancellor today, again accusing him of "an elaborate con trick".

"I think Gordon Brown's problem is that he finds it hard to be straight with people," Mr Cameron said.

"If he had stood up and said 'money is tight so I'm going to simplify the tax system but cannot afford to cut taxes', that would have been one thing.

"But he did not. Instead, he pulled an elaborate con trick.

"People will ask 'can I trust this man as my prime minister?' and I think they will say 'no, we can't'."

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Mr Brown refused to be drawn on whether he would call a snap general election if he succeeded Mr Blair. "Nothing in politics can be taken for granted," Mr Brown said.

"I happened to meet her... It was very briefly. I was talking to her and she is a very nice person. She was talking about some of the challenges she has had in her career. It was interesting but it was a very short meeting."

Pressed on whether Minogue was a fan of his, Mr Brown laughed and said: "That's something you must ask her. I certainly think she's, er, a very good person."